St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-06-30
Mayor Ames, of Minneapolis, Talks to
st. Paul Strikers Like
Dutch Uncle.
&c Makes the Sweeping Assertion That
He Is in Favor of ALI
Strikes.
Eamm's Brewery and Adjoining Prop
erty Damaged to the Extent of
$4,000 by Fire.
st. Paul Didn't Score a Vote in the
Balloiing for the Soldiers
Home Location.
DIR. AafEs FAvoRs STRIKES
That is What He Says to Mass
Meeting of Workingmen.

Il
Meeting of Workingmen.
The mass meeting of the strikers at
Market hall last night was attended by
about 500 workingmen. Mayor Ames,
of Minneapolis, Col. Hill, and other men
well known. were upon the platform,
DIR. AmeS making speech. President
Mcguire opened the meeting, saying in
brief. while reviewing the strike from
the beginning of the movement last
February:
The object of this meeting is to keep up
Interest in the strike. There are 500 car
penterS now working on the nine-hour rule,
while about 500 are still out Our commit
tee was not treated very courteouSly at the
Ryan. the contractors being anxious to
have things all their own way, and
hsy dqH want talk to IL, Eye s gf aay
over, prefelring to interrupt us ct every
effort, or apply the gag law of Il motion to
adjourn There are only about four or five
men who run the contractors association,
and they are the only ones who are keeping
the association from yielding TO our demand
Others would be ready TO do so at any time
but they have signed the resolution, and are
now mad at themselves because they have
done so. In Justification of the strike, l
might say the carpenters in this city have
been receiving less i'll st. Paul than in any
other city even for ten hours work, and nine
hours are enough for any man. Seven hun
dred carpenters have been added to the union
since the strike began.
Ed. T. Hyland. of the bricklayer'S
union was the first speaker called:
l see before me a host of my fellow work
3ngmen. l see also some contractors whose
faces are very familiar, and most of all see
upon the platform man who should be COVER
nor of this state to-day, who was elected by
the votes of we Workingmen, but who, by po-
litical chieanery and unfair methods, was
counted out. L can say for the bricklayers of
this city that they will never go TO work I'M
les the nine hour demand is conceded.
Mayor AmeS next approached and
made long speech and was frequently
cheered. He SympathiZed with the
workingmen and advocated organized
labor. he said:
MAYOR AMEs' SPEECH.
( Mr.. President and Fellow Citizens of st.
Paul: can assure you upon this occasion
that l esteem 1t an exceeding great pleasure
to be here, especially on an occasion like
this. Your committee came over and invited
me to-day. Now, you know that am terri
bly, burdened by those fellows up there
in Minneapolis by what are called official
duties, and the last legislature almost sue
ceeded in legislating me out of Office, but /
told your committee as tell you now, that
no workingnan ever made an appeal to DR..
Ames, OF Minneapolis, for the wOrkingman.
that DR.. Ames did not respond have been
placed in some positions of eminence in my
city, but want it distinctly understood that
the laboring classes have always put me
wherever have been placed. / am no tool
of the monopolists, l never have been, and
II ever become tool of the monopolist.
and an instrument in the hands of capital
then let my right arm be paralized. l stand
out upon broad proposition that
FAVOR ALL sERIKEs,
whether in st. Paul or anywhere else
know that some strikes are ill-advised, but
favor strikes because the laborirg men are
trying to elevate themselves in the world.
The speaker here referred to the Or
ganiZati0n of the dinner-pail brigade in
Minneapolis.
They made me the Champion said he,
mot because was poor workingman, but
because, L suppose, L had more cheek and
wind. To-day this question of labor and
American people And why shouldn't it
be? Why, the laboring men are
nineteen-twentieths of the popu-
ulation of the country. They should be the
soyereigns of-the country, the law makers;
they should be the judges upon the bench,
and they should constitute the jurors. They
should not allow this little class or sect to do
the ruling. There is no class or sect
of another in this country. Every
man who depends upon labor for his
support, and those who depend upon him
should organize and settle the question.
Labor is a commodity as well as everything
else, ana capitalists have been in the habit
Of using the commodity as they pleased.
thing at their hands-there is no
cutting of figures there. Look at your
grocers. They band together, and the price
Of sugar in one store is the same in another
Why is it that you can't go into one store
and getthe same commodity for different
price?, And the bankers you get no money
From them without first yielding to their de-
Why Why should paying It not ' be SO p with
lrbor? tell you here that it is yourselves,
the laboring man is the root of the evil. L
am the strongest friend of organized labor
that stands III the state of Minnesota to-day.
Why don't you also stand before the
world, with your labor as a COM
modify and, organized together de-
mand and say what your prices shall
be. You, here in st. Paul are striking for
nine hours. Why, you are away behind the
times. Up there in Minneapolis we are fight
Ing for only eight hours to-day. In the city
OF Minneapolis all the public work, except
that which was contracted before the Demoe-
racy got hold of the government is done
by days work at eight hours a day.
You should have looked afteryour politicians
and when you elect mayor, you have
pretty good fellow now, personal friend of
mine, be sure that he promises to give you
eight hours. Why, up in Minneapolis we
have a man, Tom Lowry, you know
him, perhaps, he has made from
three to five millions of dollars
IN our little city, and has few street cars
running i'll your own city. Well, they killed
a child up there. They were working men
from fifteen to sixteen hours day, and the
men would fall asleep and not know where
"N4N 6OAh5s anu llICy satIu iley
Well, the Democracy of the city
of Minneapolis made I'D their
minds that the street car company had
BETTER HIRE TWO MEN
instead Of one and have no more children
killed. l was advised by the best legal talent
not to sign the petition that was circulated
because it was unconstitutional and all that
but put my hand to it in a John Hancock
way, saying that we will make work
for few more workingmen. Now we have
street car conductors as well as drivers
There is one termination to all strikes the
price OF labor. Stand firm in your tracks
Never mind the hours Look at the wear
and tear, and then fix the price of labor. We
that. Why? Because we are organized
There IS scarcely rich man in st. Paul who
don't owe four-fffths of his wea lth to labor
There is not contractor but wants to make
from 81, 900 to s., 900 on every job Who
gives it to him: Why you make it for him.
L beheve the laboring man should get
reasonable compensation. 1 am not
In favor of contractors making $40 900
IN one seasons work and grinding down
labor to do it. say organize if you want to
get your price. It shame for you to stand
back IN the rear as scabs while honest men
are lighting for you. Capital is intolerant
Dld you ever see man who had one million
dollars but he wanted to increase it to two
million? But above all things / advise
moderation in the extreme. You must not
attempt to persecute capital. You can never
gam victory by violence. When you at
temptto do so the outside influence upon
which you SO much depend win be
deyiated from you. Capital can live
in indolc1ce for months. 1t would
not be so If labor was properly organized. /
want to congratulate you III st. Paul upon
the orderly and citizenlike manner in which
you have conducted this strike. You deserve
credit hone it may be said that YOU win
deserve credit for the outcome of the strike
and l hope it viii be successful
hope. under the free school
system of this state and ST. Paul and Mime.
apolis that every workinslnan in the future
he cdr lint